Social Interactions and We-Intentions for Agrivisitors’ Service Encounters

Abstract

This study addresses how agrivisitors' social interactions affect satisfaction and, in turn, revisit intention. Adopting social exchange theory and resource theory, the study proposes that social interactions with service providers, local residents, companion visitors, and other customers influence satisfaction, which in turn affects revisit intentions. Revisit intentions, in particular, are considered as social intentions which are shared with other people who travel together. Furthermore, this study argues that the effect of social interactions on satisfaction is stronger for visitors who have greater environmental concerns than those who are less concerned. An onsite and online survey were conducted to examine the proposed model and test the hypotheses. Subjects (N= 400) were visitors who visited organic farms with their companions. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed model and hypothesized relationships among the constructs. The analyses were performed with Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS 7.0). One construct (i.e., social interaction with local residents) was removed due to its high nonresponse rate, so the two hypotheses associated with this construct were not tested. Other than that most hypotheses except one were supported or partially supported by the data and the proposed model also had an acceptable fit to the data. Results of the present study provide a direction for the development of a theoretical framework to understand revisit intentions by seeking to improve the social exchange relationships with visitors. In addition, practical implications are presented for organic farms involved in or considering tourism businesses.